


PTA (Pass Them Apple Slices)

by CookieCatSU



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Eda attends a PTA meeting, Eda is a Mother, Fluff, Gen, King is still a lovable lazy furball, Luz goes to school, Luz is absolutely her kid, Shenanigans, Slice of Life, and struggles to admit to that reality, hexside
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24832414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieCatSU/pseuds/CookieCatSU
Summary: Eda, in true parental style, attends a Hexside PTA meeting. Or; Eda comes to terms with the fact that Luz is attending traditional schooling, and takes some matters into her own hands.
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & King, Eda Clawthorne & King & Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, King & Luz Noceda
Comments: 56
Kudos: 291
Collections: All things Disney





	1. Pass Them Apple Slices!

"Where are you goin'?"

King is staring at her, rolling on the balls of his feet. It was half past 5. The sun was just starting to rise, light barely sparkling through the windows, and Luz was still upstairs, fast asleep. King, that darn fluffy beast, should have been as well.

He never got up before noon.

Eda stops dead in her tracks. Cursing under her breath. She'd hoped to have slipped out the door without being seen.

"None of your business" she replies, without missing a beat.

They had rules, unspoken tenets between them. When Eda said, don't ask, King didn't pry. And if King feel asleep curled near the chair, Eda left him be. Those were the little acts of courtesy they afforded each other.

King knew there were things about Eda he'd rather not know. Things he'd rather not interfere with. So, on those rare occasions Eda left to take care of 'personal business', King usually leaves her be.

The little demon clamors down from the couch, giving her that dubious, suspicious expression that said he knew she was hiding something. Then it morphs, into that careless look he leveled at her over the breakfast table, that said he couldn't give less of a crap.

"Uh-huh. Can I come?" He asks.

The look of mortification that arises is quickly quashed, as she steels her expression. No need to give the little hairball more ammunition.

"Can you come?-" Eda bursts into incredulous laughter, shaking her head fondly, "Nice try, furball"

Nope. He'd be staying at home.

King didn't know how to keep his mouth shut at the best of times, and Eda didn't want anyone, under any circumstances, to find out about what she was doing.

Selling stolen human artifacts was one thing. This was something else entirely.

This was something sinister. Something she never thought she'd do.

"I'm a great companion!" He exclaims, voice desperate with boredom.

He _definitely_ would not be coming.

"Uh-huh" She slips through the door, still cackling, already halfway out, "See you in a few hours. And keep an eye on Luz, will ya"

Eda had to do this alone.

* * *

Eda never thought she'd be sitting in this school once again, to be honest, speaking to these same teachers she hasn't seen in what felt like an eternity, and yet, here she is.

Eda huffs, as she sits half slouched in her chair, feeling like her brains were going to leak out. She wears a stupid, sparkly name tag across her chest that said _Edalyn Clawthorne, proud mother of one_ , in the pink gel pen provided to her by the short, ditzy little witch greeting people at the door. Everyone got one, equally sparkly and stupid looking.

Several eyes glare at her as soon as she enters, at once frightened, judging and passive. Clearly, her reputation precedes her.

Eda, for her part, is particularly… tame, as she takes her seat at the round meeting table (huge, and without any ends, meant to be more inclusive). She sits up straight, clasps her hands in her lap, and wrangles control of her more feral tendencies. She doesn't, for example, hex the woman staring at her so harshly from the corner of her eye. She would have, when she was thirteen and stupid. She would have a week ago, too, when school was that building that sucked the spirit from out of your skull, and being anywhere within its walls was like having the skin burnt from your arms.

Before Luz was enrolled there.

Now, she's going to PTA meetings.

She tries not to think about how mundane that is. How _ironic_ that is.

To think, the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch of the isles, was attending bland meetings to arrange school wide bake sales. She laughs softly at the thought.

* * *

People trickle in slowly, teachers and soccer moms, with serious expressions and forehead wrinkles. Chairs squeak across the floor, as they're pulled out from the table, and people sit.

A young witch, just as bright and exuberant as the lady at the entrance, throws herself in the chair beside Eda. Something about her is so incredibly proper, and domestic, it makes Eda want to vomit. She adjusts the little dragon clasp purse on her shoulder, and pushes square rimmed glasses further up the bridge of her nose, before turning to Eda with a sickening smile.

Eda rolls her eyes. This wasn't her type of crowd.

She seems not to recognize Eda, either (never mind the wanted poster stapled to every door).

"You're a parent too, right?" The brunette's friendly tone definitely indicated she had no idea who Eda was.

For the best, she supposed.

She blinks owlishly.

Eda had never considered herself a parent. When she thought of the term her own mother came to mind, so stiff and responsible and unbelievably caring, and she'd never been able to quite perceive herself as fitting into the role.

Was she? Eda thinks of Luz, of why she's even sitting here in the first place, and feels a warm, fuzzy feeling.

"Yeah, sure" She replies, noncommittal.

She does not mention that there was no way this lady was old enough to have a kid of her own (she looked, what, 17?). Eda knew when to keep her trap shut.

Instead, she throws her hands behind her head, leans back in her chair, and tries to ignore her.

The lady is hardly perturbed. She smiles, and opens her mouth again to speak. Eda prayed that the dang meeting would start already. She'd already been sitting around for ten minutes, and she hated idle chit chat.

"My name's Jeanine-" Ugh. She's gearing up for a spiel.

A hand taps her shoulder. Eda's never been happier to be interrupted.

It's her old potions professor, just as tight lipped and severe as she remembers. She wonders, vaguely, if she still had that thick ruler of hers in the back of her pocket, like a second appendage she used it so often.

Her stomach drops.

"Edalyn Clawthorne" She sneers, hands clenched with frustration, so _delighted_ to see her, "You made my life hell"

There's an implied question, that need not be asked. _Why are you here?_ is projected on her forehead in neon letters.

Eda holds back an annoyed growl of her own.

She was behaving herself. Trying to, at least.

"Don't get your robes in a twist. I'm not here for that" Eda reassures her, waving her off with a nonchalant hand, "I'm here for my kid"

Eda absolutely wouldn't be there, if it wasn't for Luz, wearing this stupid nametag and sitting in this silly koombyah circle. If Eda wanted to make trouble, she _definitely_ wouldn't be doing it here, anyway.

She'd blow up a prison, or something, you know. Something extravagant, and worth her time.

Whatever she said rang true. Her professor, bitter as she was, appeared satisfied with the answer, and let it go.

Eda huffs.

The brown haired witch beside her, Jeanine, looks somewhat concerned.

"That was unpleasant" She says, and the lady actually looks sorry for her! Sorry, for _her_ , Eda! Edalyn fights down a barking laugh, and wonders just how much one person can dislike another.

"What can I say, my old teachers love me!" Is her only answer.

* * *

Bump arrives shortly, thankfully. The room fills out, occupied by chattering parents and teachers that, in all honesty, probably wanted to burn Eda at the stake.

Her potions professor hadn't been the only teacher Eda made life hard for. She'd been a bit of a menace, in her younger years, and she'd been proud of it.

Now, she'd just have to endure the stares, and as annoying as it was, she was willing to.

"Good evening, parents, staff," He nods to all the heads around the table. "Thank you for joining us. As you all know, we should be discussing coursework for our students at today's meeting. But first things first"

They pass around snacks, and Eda sits and waits. She'd be patient, until they got to the important parts.

Because if Luz was going to this school, Eda wanted (needed) to have a say in what happened here. Maybe, just maybe, she could stop what happened to her from happening to Luz.

Or, at the very least, she could help protect her. Keep the young thing whole. Unique.

And that started with being on the PTA, she supposed.


	2. Oh No, She Knows!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately for Eda, the secret's out... and now her most vile enemy knows the truth...

The situation Eda had fallen into was by no means her fault. Some kid had gotten over excited, and in a burst of vast energy, cast some pretty chaotic spells that, when mixed together, created a giant gelatinous beast with fire for breath and a hankering appetite for witches. The cafeteria inevitably got trashed, along with half the school building, and Eda, also inevitably, got blamed for the whole thing.

It was a good laugh while it lasted. People were running like their heads had been cut off, some slathered with gunk, and all of the screaming, wide eyed terror was so comically over the top she couldn't stop chuckling.

Then there's the familiar white cowls of the Emperor's goons marching down the halls, and unmistakable, teal hued eyes are glaring into her.

Lilith slaps the cuffs on her, which slither around her wrists like a serpent. There's the pierce of metal pinprick fangs in her skin, along with a sensation almost like suffocation, so restricting and stifling. She can feel the magic spilling from her body, and watches as it collects into a pair of ruby red jewels, bright as eyeballs.

"Is laughing a crime?" She asks, sneering at her sister.

The situation goes downhill from there. Apparently Lilith was still mad about Eda turning her into a slobbering dog. Or maybe it was something else Eda did? Honestly, who even knows? Lily was always mad, anyway.

* * *

It comes out by accident, in a rather tense conversation, so out of place it strikes the room silent. Lilith pauses abruptly. She'd been about to drag Eda out of the school dining hall by the arm.

Lilith gives her a weird look, halfway between incredulous and straight up baffled.

"You're going to PTA meetings now?" She makes it sound like the sky is falling.

It is.

Eda had always been the rebel. The rule breaker. She exalted in the idea of snubbing the nose of authority. Joining the PTA at once was too mundane and boring and too much like their own mother for Eda to ever consider doing it.

Unless…

Eda scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up. It's not as if I take any of those goody two-shoe rule followers seriously. I just have things I need to say"

Lilith becomes even more confused.

"Like what?"

Eda thought she should tell her sister that 'dumb as a rock' looked unbecoming on her. She decides not to.

"None of your beeswax, sis" She snaps instead, gnashing her teeth. There was a reason she hadn't told anyone (not even Luz), "Anyway, I thought you were arresting me, not asking about how I spend my free time"

"I'm just surprised" Lilith actually smiled at her, for what felt, to Eda, like the first time in decades. It hadn't really been decades, but it _felt_ like it, and her bones crackled frequently enough that it might as well have been.

Three years felt like thirty. A month was like forever.

Eda groans, pulling frustratedly at her bindings. Her face was hot, with anger and annoyance. She was about to start chewing on these _stupid_ ties snaked around her wrists, which chafed into her skin they were so tight.

"Surprised that I didn't burn the building down, or surprised they let me in?"

Lilith doesn't answer. She pushes Eda toward the exit of the school, almost on autopilot. Eda can tell by the look on her face that she's thinking rather deeply, and not about where she'd be taking Eda to contain her. This tango was second nature to them, after all, that pointless game of cat and mouse, cop and robber. It required little thought.

"When did you get so fond of the child?" Lilith finally asks, an unwanted break in the silence.

"What the heck are you talking about it?" Eda asks irritably. Her wrists were burning, and she needed a nice cat nap.

Lilith's brow creases in thought.

"The little human...uh, you know, that stumbling creature you brought to the Convention as your apprentice. She has something to do with this, right?"

"You don't know what you're talking about" Eda exclaims quickly.

Except, she does, and they both know it.

Just as they both knew Eda would escape to hide another day, as she always did. Just as Eda knew Lilith would never let her live this down.

* * *

A month later, Lilith encounters Eda, and instead of her usual scowl which forms at the sight of her, she smiles, and laughs (Eda had been getting a lot of those from her sister lately, what had before been a rare treat that she usually, failed, to appreciate, becoming a relatively common occurrence).

"How're the PTA meetings going?" She calls, giggling into her hand.

Eda simply scowls back. Grumbling to herself.

There had been a reason she hadn't told anyone, hadn't wanted anyone to know. Especially Lilith of all people.

Darn, Mrs. Skints. If she'd just kept her mouth shut…

Ugh. She was never going to live this down.

The Owl Lady, the most powerful witch of the Isles, going to PTA meetings. Even when she says it to herself, it sounds preposterous.


	3. You're Eda's Student, Aren't You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz attends her first few days at Hexside, ultimately fails to subvert expectations, and is saved from certain doom by her beloved teacher, Eda.

There were already legends about her. Whispers about the human, with her rounded ears and forked tongue. The outlaw, living with a known criminal, just waiting to spread chaos throughout their lovely school.

If you'd told Luz everybody would be talking about her a week ago, she'd think it was a good thing. It wasn't. It really, really wasn't.

She already had a reputation for mischief at the school, following the whole abomination thing, and getting banned, and having her face covered in purple goop posted over every bathroom stall and every window. Then, Eda showed up at the school the first day to drop Luz off, and a crowd of eyes fell on her, on them. They haven't left since.

The transfigurations teacher blanches at the sight of Luz.

"Oh my… you're _Eda's_ student" She exclaims, horrified: as if it encapsulated all Luz was.

"Yeah?" Luz replies dubiously. She didn't see why it mattered.

"You like setting things on fire too, don't you?" She looks close to hysterics.

Luz quickly takes a seat in the corner, before she could trigger her new teacher any further.

The rest of the day is spent hearing about all the awful things Eda had done when she was going to Hexside, with all of her new professors assuming Luz would do those same things.

Evidently, since Luz was under Eda's tutelage, she must also be the same menace as the one who came before her.

Luz, personally, had no interest in vandalizing bathrooms, or letting loose all the miniature kelpies to wreak havoc across the school. She just wanted to finally learn some magic.

Knowing one spell was great, but knowing _two_ , now that would be something.

* * *

Luz had never been so engaged at school before. Everything they were learning was just so fascinating, in a way calculus and english class simply wasn't.

Luz had no track yet. As their first ever human transfer student, she was more an observer than anything else, watching, unbound by a coven.

Luz scribbles bard symbols across her paper and watches them glow. She's absorbed into the work, constructing a symphony to be belted out at a later date. A class reminiscent of public speaking in the human world, which every witch apparently must take.

Willow sits beside her, half distracted, quill tapping against her chin.

"What'd you do, Luz?" Willow asks, concerned.

Luz blinks. Her quill stops mid motion, leaving a blot of golden ink, marring her work. She scribbles it out and keeps moving, determining that it'll probably be fine, or it'll screech like a broken record player later. Either way, it's fine,

"I didn't do anything"

Gus looks over, gazing with furrowed brows at the teacher.

"Then why is Mr. Harvey staring daggers at you?"

Oh. Luz shrugs it off like it's nothing. She'd been getting looks all day.

"I think it's because of something Eda did"

They both nod, as if that were explanation enough.

"Oh. Ok" They nod again, and then return to their presentations.

* * *

Luz was regretting eating lunch. In hindsight, it was probably the wrong decision.

Foam explodes from the ceiling, forming half sentient tendrils solid enough to grab onto chairs and tables. The floor of the potions classroom is slathered with all manner of chemicals, cauldrons dented and leaking, desks crushed, windows shattered. The room was demolished, and the whole class was panicked.

"What did you do, Gus?" Willow asks, wide eyed and shaky.

It'd started from his cauldron. Their cauldron.

"I didn't do anything," He replies.

Luz screams in the background, sailing through the air, as she's thrown like a ragdoll by their potions assignment gone wrong.

* * *

Eda received a call from the school at about 2:17. She arrived 30 minutes later, fashionably late, with her staff perched haphazardly across her shoulder. Luz looks up at her with a guilty expression, as soon as she enters, sitting hunched in front of the Principal's office.

Eda knows what this is about before Bump even exits the office to speak to her, wearing that same severe, pinched expression he'd donned when he caught her spray painting, _Bump's got a fat Rump,_ all over the girl's lockers. She'd been such a wordsmith back in the day. And an artist to boot. Good times.

They make eye contact. Bump looks first at Luz and then at Eda, expression that of a person beholding a couple of miscreants.

He leads her into his office, and they sit, like adults about to have a discussion. Except, Eda knows this is no discussion. He's about to lecture her.

" _Your_ student demolished the potions lab today" Principal Bump mutters, staring Eda down as if she should be abashed.

Edalyn, in response, blinks carelessly. She knew she was supposed to be concerned, could tell by his expression. She's not.

"And you're telling me because…?"

He looks fit to explode, red as a tomato. Eda stifles a laugh.

"So you can get control of your student, Ms. Clawthorne" He growls.

Gross. Eda cringes at being called Miss _anything_. Made her sound like some crocheting grandma.

"She's expressing herself" She replies with a shrug.

"She destroyed school property"

Heck yeah! And Eda, for one, was proud of her for it. Just look at the kid, following in her mentor's footsteps.

They might have a free thinker on their hands, yet.

"Give her a treat" Eda grins, smug and amused, "She's earned it"

Bump frowns at her,

"You're still just like a petulant child"

Using big words now, huh. That definitely scared her. Oh no, she's so intimidated by the spluttering man squealing at her like a pig.

"And you're still old as dirt. Can we stop with the name calling, now?"

* * *

The ride home is quiet. The wind howls in their ears as they soar across the Isles. Luz simply knows she's about to get a stern talking to, and refuses to look at Eda. Instead, she grips on tight to the handle of the staff, gazing down sullenly, at tiny little houses whizzing past below them.

"I'm proud of you kid" Eda says finally, voice swelling with affection.

Luz blinks with confusion. She doesn't remember doing anything particularly good today. In fact, you could argue she did some particularly bad stuff today. Barson still had a broken arm, and Gus was going to be spending the next 2 weeks getting all of the foam out of his hair.

"What for?" Luz asks.

"For that stunt you pulled" She cackles, "It was resourceful. Shows a lot of skill"

Luz struggles not to smile at her tone.

"Oh no, that was _actually_ an accident"

Eda just laughs. Luz was just as chaotic, maybe even more so, than she was.

"Oh… well, accident more often" The witch smiles smugly, "Also, I got you detention for 3 weeks, so you're welcome"

3 weeks. Luz had to admit, she was surprised. She'd really expected to at least be suspended.

"What would it have been?" She asks curiously.

"3 days. Bump's ego is hurting from those epic barbs I threw"

Luz purses her lips.

"3 weeks instead of 3 days. Somehow, that doesn't sound much better"

Eda shrugs.

"Hey, at least he's not expelling you"


	4. Park of Spectacle!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eda, Luz and King head to the park. You know, bonding and all. Chaos ensues.
> 
> Oh, and Eda runs into a familiar, and quite frankly annoying face.

The sun is beaming, so bright it's like freaking hellfire beaming down on them. Eda squints, hand shading her eyes, as they walk past twisting, gnarly trees and crush bright green grass underfoot, which screamed quietly everytime it was stepped on.

There are children, screaming and playing, and gangly teens throwing sharp toothed frisbees. Owners walking their silly looking dogs. Nothing unusual for the isles.

Luz is grinning, from her place at Eda's elbow, eye's comically bright. Eda can't help but smile, at her wide eyed, naive enthusiasm. It was really refreshing, she supposed, to see someone get so excited over such mundane stuff.

"Here we are" Eda exclaims, with a proud shout and a wide gesture encompassing everything, including the eyes cream truck just down the street.

Cause, mundane or nor, she was not above milking it.

"Eww. Gross… the park" King scowls, little arms crossed over his tiny chest. Trying to undermine Eda's carefully planned performance.

"Whatever. We don't need the attitude. Scram, ya fluff ball" She nudges him away with her foot. He rolls a little, hisses at her, and stomps off dramatically.

Luz giggles, hand covering her mouth. Eda laughs too, because the little gremlin was too funny when he got all mad and huffy.

Then the moment is over, and Eda is grabbing her apprentice's wrist. Her grin is wide and mischievous, as she gazes at the girl.

"Now I've got some cool stuff to show you"

Luz gasps a little as she's pulled away, toward the center of the park.

* * *

They clutch melting, icy popsicles, which dribble all over their hands and stain everything blue. Luz is grinning like an idiot, gesturing with the most liveliest, biggest hand gestures Eda's ever seen. It honestly looks like her arms might pop out of socket, but the witch leaves her be.

"I had no idea you could make fireworks just appear out of nowhere"

"It's a trick I learned from my school days"

"And it was awesome!"

They pause, near a sparkling duck pond. They kept a respectable distance, of course, since the ducks (Luz called them ducks, but everyone from the Isles called them feathered beasts) were quite territorial and viciously peckish.

Water burbles from a nearby fountain. They lean against a cluster of trees, and eat their popsicles.

"Show me what you've learned kiddo"

"Hmmm" Luz looks up from where she'd been chowing down on her pop, "You mean from school"

"Well yeah, doi. I'm not asking about what I taught you. You know, since I taught you it"

Luz grins, since she was always grinning. So happy and go lucky… such a troublemaker. A trouble magnet, really.

Which only makes it seem obvious that of course, the ice ball she's conjuring would explode. The rune she's drawn on her palm glows bright white like a fire poker, and then the ice starts to form from the water vapor around them, congealing and hardening, swirling, swirling, growing larger and larger.

Eda's eyes widen, as the glowing ball of cold becomes even brighter, intensifying, getting even bigger until it's the size of a grapefruit. Then it pops.

They both stagger back and Luz nearly falls in the duck pond, and Eda has to grab onto the hood of her horrifying cat hoodie so she doesn't fall in.

She pulls the girl upright. Luz smiles sheepishly.

Eda's grinning so wide she feels as if her face may crack in half.

"Atta girl!" She exclaims, wild eyed and beaming. Just bursting with pride.

Luz's ensuing smile is genuine.

* * *

When they finally meet back up with King it's nearly evening. The sun is moving rapidly toward the horizon. They still have sunlight, plenty of it, but the sun's rays are coming at them nearly sideways at this point.

King sits atop Eda's shoulders, banging his hands against her back.

"Faster!" He whines, "Faster! I compell you"

"King stop. She'll probably drop you" Luz warns him.

"Listen to the kid. She's a smart one"

Her ears twitch. There's a voice, familiar but not too familiar. Casual, and upbeat and grating on her nerves. She grits her teeth, stops walking, and turns abruptly toward the noise.

And there's that witch from the PTA, waving at her. There's a boy at her side, gangly and dark haired, and totally unamused looking. She's got a stroller in her hands too, and there's probably a drooling, blubbering little tot nestled inside it.

She's still wearing the dragon rimmed glasses, but she seems to have lost the purse, in favor of a lime green fanny pack that crinkled like lizard skin.

"Hiya Mrs. Clawthorne" Ms. Uh… Ms. Jeanine calls, smiling all wide and cheery just like at every PTA meeting.

Eda scowls, and rolls her eyes to the heavens.

"Whose that?" Luz whispers, watching the lady dubiously, as she walks over with the stroller. So purposeful.

"No body" Eda mutters, eyes narrowed, "Just some lady who passes out sparkly stickers"

She had to be in a special mood for this, and this was not the one. Nope. Not at all.

"Look at these cuties. I see you brought your little ones" She says, indicating Luz and King.

Eda blinks at her. Shrugs. "Yeah, I did"

"That's so sweet of you, bringing them to the park" Jeanine beams, and indicates her own little gremlins, "I thought I'd bring Jared and Helen here, let them get some fresh air"

She pinches the little boy's cheek. He squirms and pushes and protests until she eventually let's go. Then he brushes his hair back, crosses his arms and continues to look away and stabd all standoff ish.

"I'm Luz"

"Hi Luz. I'm Jeanine, a friend of you're mother's-"

"My mother?"

Eda's lip pulls back in a snarl. Her face is so hot it's like the surface of the isles' lava pits. It's just 'cause of the sun, beaming down on them like it wants to boil them alive.

She definitely isn't embarrassed. Isn't still avoiding the word, though it gets harder every day.

Your mother.

The worst part, is the way Luz seems to consider it, and the way Eda finds herself holding her breath, waiting for her proclamation. Her decision.

It's stupid.

She grabs Luz's shoulder, and begins to steer her away. Determined to escape all the touchy feely grossness that would be involved in the rest of the conversation.

In the words. Mother. Daughter. Ugh.

"All right, it's time for us to get out of here. Nice seeing ya, Jeanine. Tell ol' Bump I'll be late next week. Bye!"

"Okay? See you next Tuesday! And don't forget about the bake sale… Ms. Clawthorne…. Eda?"

Eda walks as fast as she can. Which is pretty fast, since her stride is so long (being nearly 7 feet tall did reap some benefits). It still wasn't fast enough.

"What was that about?" Luz asks, once they've stopped outside the park.

"Who was that?" King adds, staring at her with that look.

"Nobody" Eda repeats, because it really was the truth. She was nobody, besides an annoyance.

"Uh-huh" King looks away, but the mischievous glint in his eye says he hasn't let it go.

If Eda knows him, he never will.

She curses under her breath, and summons her staff


	5. Admit It!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eda's absolutely a mom, but refuses to say so aloud. Thankfully, Luz and King are on the case!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. As you can probably already tell, I am awful at posting chapters in anything even resembling a timely manner, much less on a schedule.... But I'm going to try to do better, guys!
> 
> P.S. If this looks like I wrote this in one sitting, it's because I did. Lol.

King isn't stupid. He's a pretty smart demon, who prides himself on how conniving he is. Eda thinks she can pull one over on him, thinks he can't follow, but she should really know better.

He's disappointed in her, honestly.

When he slides onto the stool, hugged up against the kitchen counter, he's keen on giving her a chance to come clean. He leans the hard bone of his cheek against a fisted paw, watching her curiously. She's distracted enough to have not heard the commotion of him trying to scramble up onto a seat twice his height, so focused on uh… whatever you do in a kitchen. Cooking, he guesses.

His grin is wide and predatory, "You look busy"

She squints suspiciously at the look on his face.

"Yeah, so what? No rest for the wicked, or something like that"

"You're cooking! I didn't know you did that!"

Eda huffs, staring at him irritably, "I do what I want"

King leans closer, eyes widening once he sees the pans she's shoveling out of the oven. "Are those cupcakes?" Cupcakes, seriously? If that didn't scream soccer mom, King didn't know what did. "Ooooo, you're in deep"

When she turns upon him with burning eyes, hot with indignation, it's almost enough to fool him. It _almost_ makes him wonder if that whole scene at the park had even been genuine.

Then she softens, just the slightest bit around the edges, and spits out a half-hearted, "Get, you little beast" that really didn't pack any punch behind it, too soft because it's crumbly with fondness, affection- and King knows for sure.

* * *

King needs a plan. Above all though, King needs a partner. A partner in crime! Because they were definitely about to commit some crimes, being outrageous outlaws and all.

Luz seemed like the perfect candidate. He finds her in the living room, practicing spells, and fills her in.

King leans over the arm of the couch, upside down- in very much roguelike fashion, he must add. 

"We gotta get her to admit it"

Luz blinks, before leaning in closer, and asking with a conspiratorial whisper. "Admit what?"

"That she cares about people. Mainly you, and moi"

"I mean, it's not as if Eda never says it or anything. She uh… she definitely said 'good job, kid' last week, and she didn't gag or anything"

"Who cares? Eda's becoming a Mom, and I won't rest until she says it!" King cackles, rubbing his paws together, "That's the last time you call me Mr. Wiggles!"

"King, are you asking me to help you blackmail Eda?"

"No! No. Uh, yeah, but it's not like that. This is good for everybody involved. She'll finally say what she really thinks, and I'll get to make fun of her. And lovey dovey yatta yatta, whatever… you'll like that part"

Luz considers that, with what seems to be bone shaking intensity, before giving a quick nod and a smile.

"Alright! We'll need a good, cohesive scheme. So, to the scheming board!" She points toward a tiny blackboard she's tacked to the wall, just beside the door, and they both scurry over to it, bright with excitement.

* * *

For Luz, part of the experience is, well, the experience. Even the failed plans are worthwhile because she and King bond over the execution of said failed plans, often ending in laughter and wiped down chalk and scrawling messy Plan G additions while no one's watching (Hooty most of all. He's a lot nosy-er than either of them would have first anticipated, and he harps straight to Eda- so he too becomes a fun obstacle to try to overcome).

Luz dots the last i's, crosses the remaining t's, and turns to King with her gaze aglow with mischief, chalk stowed behind her ear.

"Ready?"

King grins wide, like an adorable little shark.

"Ready!"

"Plan J is a go!"

When Eda strolls downstairs, after a long, restless night, all tangle-haired and ragged, she reaches the bottom step to find Luz lying prone in the middle of the living room, left leg held tight to her chest.

"Oh Eda, my leg, it's broken!" Luz cries, loud and ridiculous, in the least convincing, 'I'm hurt' voice anyone had ever conceived. The added wail of pain only adds insult to injury.

Eda is tired enough, however, that for a split 3 seconds, she's fooled. Genuinely fooled.

"Luz! Oh my god, what happened?" Eda rushes to her, moments from heaving her up in her arms, before she pauses. Luz stops writhing on the floor, to glance up at Eda. Then she eases one eye open, and her gaze is questioning.

Eda pokes her. Luz squirms like she's dying (except dead things don't squirm), and adds another, "Ah, my leg!" for good measure.

Eda's look is unamused (but also very amused) "Really? I broke my leg falling half a foot from the couch? I was supposed to believe that? Where's the blood?" She shakes her head, "And where's King?"

"In the kitchen"

"With a fake knife sticking out of his back, probably?"

"No…"

King scowls, as they gaze at their chalkboard of schemes, later that day. He wipes at the artificial blood stuck in the fur on his back, scowling harder at the stickiness.

"I'm not sure why we thought that would work" Luz muses, as she erases the board, and grabs the chalk to start anew.

"It would have, if you just knew how to sell it" King retorts, though they both know that's… definitely pushing it.

"The knife in the back was definitely too much" He concedes, after a moment.

* * *

Scrapbooks. The key was scrapbooks, Luz and King decided.

First they had to ensnare her, with a good ol' fashioned Owl Lady trap.

"Apple blood?" Luz offers, voice innocently sweet.

Eda's eyebrow arches. They're both pretty sure she's on to them. She's not called the Owl Lady for no reason, after all, and her yellow eyes are _sharp._

"Sure, kid" She accepts the drink, sitting down on the couch to nurse it, and Luz grins.

Step 1 down.

Next, Luz and King sit down on either side of her, King scrambling up the side of the chair, and snuggle in. And what are they holding- scrapbooks! They both have scrapbooks. That's the entirety of the plan, really.

King opens his: it's of Eda's school days, and it has her parents, and her sister, and family memories. Luz cracks hers open too, and points out the first picture her fingertip grazes.

"Look, Eda, it's me, you and King, at the rat leg shack" They're grinning up at her, shining faces forever immortalized. Luz feels a soft, comforting warmth in the pit of her stomach.

"Yeah, that was fun" Eda says, voice particularly soft.

"This one is of you and your mom" King pipes up, slamming a claw against the laminated picture.

"And she made me get those god awful pigtails. I remember"

An hour passes.

"Here we are again. We just got chased out of the market" Luz says.

"Another of you and Elder Clawthorne"

King hums, as if considering something very deeply.

"You know, you reminded me a lot of your mother in that last one, Eda"

Luz nods eagerly, "Yeah. The mom energy is undeniable"

Eda huffs, standing unceremoniously. "Nah, I'm nothing like dear old mom. Way too stuffy" She sniffs, staring in her mug as if staring down a black hole, "And I'm out of apple blood anyway. That's enough reminiscing for one day, yeah?"

She sweeps out of the room, leaving Luz and King to stare after her from the couch, scrapbooks still sitting in their laps.

"Dang it! So close" King snaps, and he jumps up off the couch and stomps off.

* * *

They stop, once they reach letter P. They're not quitting, Luz says patiently, because quitting is bad for the psyche. They're just taking a break, until they can come up with a better plan. A fool proof plan.

"Mom?" Luz calls, with very little thought. She's doing some of her very, extra exciting Hexside witch homework, and while it's not actually as exciting as she would have thought, it makes up for it in difficulty. She direly needs some assistance.

Eda is understandably speechless. Luz absolutely understands, in hindsight.

"Did you just call me… Mom?" Eda exclaims, voice so quiet Luz finds herself straining to hear.

She has to consider that for a moment, before she nods. "Yeah, I did. Is there something wrong with that?"

Eda gapes. Her mouth opens and closes, like a fish, but no sound comes out. Then she snaps her mouth shut and just stares.

"No" She finally manages to say, "I just… you think of me as like… a parental figure?"

Luz smiles, "Well, yeah. Of course. You watch over me, and teach me stuff, just like a parent does. Not just like _any_ parent, though, 'cause it's better"

Eda laughs. Then she kneels, and the kitchen floor is cold enough she can feel the chill through her robe, sending shockwaves through her bones, but she doesn't care.

"Come here, you little snot gobbler" Eda says, voice trembling with tears, warm with affection, arms opened wide.

And Luz hugs her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now Eda just needs to call Luz, daughter, or something....
> 
> Also, Bake sale next chapter. Whoo!


End file.
